What’s Up Above? November Stargazing
As November continues the transition between our astronomical seasons, it brings with it experiences and moments when bounty and barren are upon us. But, before that, wasn’t the October marathon of meteor showers simply amazing?! It was special. Anyway, back to November.
Stargazing this month calls to mind the Taoist belief system represented in the yin-yang symbol. A symbol which represents the idea that life and nature is made up of opposing, yet complementary forces. November is a yin-yang month for stargazing in the northern hemisphere. Some Yin. Daylight Saving Time concluded November 1st. Now the Sun sets around 5:00pm local time giving darkness sooner; ergo, more time for stargazing. The spectacular winter constellations begin to rise in the east at a more reasonable hour. Yippee! That’s great yin. As for the yang, take the mere act of stargazing. Being outside in late autumn is a “burr” and cold. You will ask yourself, “Is having my fingers, nose, and toes reacting with annoyance worth it?” Without a doubt, however some hesitation, the answer is “Yes!”
Go ahead and put on a sweater, a heavier coat, and maybe even a hat and gloves. When you’re set, step outside, and look up. You’ll be amazed. While it’s not a meteor shower every night this November, there are four meteor showers for you to enjoy. An open blue-hued star cluster, and the return of the Pleiades! (I’ve missed those spry sashaying and swaying Seven Sisters.) Plus, this November’s Full Beaver Moon is a supermoon to boot. Wrapping up the month, Mars, Jupiter, the Moon, and the “Little Prince” star Regulus, are moving in conjunction, appulse, and occultation throughout the night on the 29th and 30th. Say what? Yep, that’s just a few of the naked eye celestial events this month for you to witness and enjoy.
So I ask you, do you need any other motivation to layer up, step outside, and look up to the heavens this November? I think not. Read on, and learn.
Those Dancing Queens Are Back! The Pleiades Return.
They’ve been gone all summer and a clear sign that the winter constellations are making their return is the rise of the Pleiades, The Seven Sisters. And to be honest, we’ve missed them. Now, those seven special swinging swaying sisters of the night are back, and happy to be back; which explains the dancing.
While the daughters of mighty Atlas and the Oceanid nymph Pleione, spend most of their nights fleeing the lecherous Orion the Hunter, during November, they are free and without concern as the mighty Orion lies below the horizon far from reach of the sisters. Free to dance, sway, and swirl yourself, as you can bet the sisters are glad to be back and having a good time.
Take advantage of this moment to view one of the truly spectacular celestial objects of the autumn and winter seasons as the sisters are easy to see rising over the eastern horizon shortly after 8:30pm local time.
The Seven Sisters are formally known as the Pleiades, and also known as Messier 45, or M45 is an open star cluster located in the constellation of Taurus. Galileo Galilei was the first astronomer to view the Pleiades through a telescope, and the Frenchman, Charles Messier, measured the position of the cluster and identified it in his 1771 catalog. An open cluster is a group of up to a few thousand stars that were formed inside the same giant molecular cloud and are roughly the same age. The seven brightest in the cluster are the Seven Sisters and they create a somewhat similar shape as to Ursa Major’s Big Dipper asterism and Ursa Minor’s Little Dipper asterism, which is why Pleiades is informally referred to as the “Mini Dipper.”
When you look for the Pleiades this month, begin by scanning for a bright smudge above the east-northeast horizon. The cluster is roughly the same size as the Full Moon, so look for a similar sized patch of dim brightness in the sky. Once you find it, avert your vision to the left or right of the smudge and the sisters will greet you. Each sister has a distinct light blue color. This striking blue color results from their age, temperature, luminosity, and all being formed in the same cloud of gas. When you find the cluster you notice the handle of the Mini Dipper is pointing back down towards the horizon. Grab your binoculars to truly experience the color of the stars and just how much it resembles the Big Dipper. While the Seven Sisters dominate the open cluster, it is estimated that the cluster contains over 1,000 stars.
Here’s a thought for you. Why not join the sisters in their happy dance? Taking the hand of your special someone and step outside to then sway, swing, shimmy, and dance along with those irresistible special siblings? I guarantee you, you and your sweetie won’t be dancing alone.
Northern Taurid Meteor Shower: Peak November 12th
The Northern Taurids Meteor Shower is a can’t-miss celestial event this year. I make this proclamation for three reasons. First, the meteor shower is visible from sunset to sunrise (you can view the meteors early in the night); second, this year the shower peaks after a 4-day crescent moon sets earlier in the evening; and third, the shower’s radiant point is easy to find in the night sky. That’s a lot of yin!
Look at the image above, and note the position of Pleiades, and the position of the brightest star in the constellation Taurus. The star, Aldebaran. The radiant point for this shower is right between the Pleiades and Aldebaran. The Northern Taurids’ shower is the result of tiny grains or bits of dust trailing behind Comet Encke, hitting, skipping, or skimming across and off the Earth’s atmosphere.
To find the radiant point of the meteor shower, look towards and above the eastern horizon after 6:20pm local time. You are looking for the brightest star in the east, close to the horizon, which is Aldebaran. Extend your arm, clench your fist, and put your pinky next to Aldebaran and then turn your wrist up 90-degrees, so your thumb is straight up. Here is the area from which the majority of the meteors radiate. Remember, this area moves across the sky
throughout the night. The best time to look for the radiant point is after 11pm local time when the radiant point for the shower is highest in the sky. You can anticipate seeing on average 5 meteors per hour. With the moon so new and setting early, there will be minimal interference interrupting your view of fainter meteors later in the evening. Get ready. This will be a good shower to view.
Leonid Meteor Shower: Peak November 17th & 18th
The annual Leonid Meteor Shower is active from the 6th through the 30th. The meteors radiate from within the constellation Leo. This year it is estimated there will be between 10–15 meteors per hour at its peak on the 17th at 10:55pm MT. The meteor showers arise when the Earth passes through streams of debris left in the wake of comets and asteroids. Over time, the tiny debris inside the stream spreads along the entire length of the object's orbit. Look between the hours of 11pm and 6:15am for meteors radiating slightly above the east-northeast horizon and then moving due west across the sky as night progresses. The maximum meteors per hour is anticipated to be around 11pm on the 17th. Unfortunately, this year the moonlight from the 62% illuminated waxing gibbous Moon will interfere with seeing the shower’s fainter or burst meteors.
The meteor shower is created by the Comet Temple-Tuttle. Every 33-years, the Leonid shower becomes a storm and puts on a spectacular show. Then, thousands of meteors ride the night sky per hour, instead of the 10 – 15 meteors we are likely to see this time. Astrophysicists believe the debris stream the Earth will pass through this year was like the result of the meteor’s passing in 1767. Next big outbursts? 2033, 2034, 2061, and 2099.
A-Monocerotids Meteor Shower, Peak November 21st
Here’s a meteor shower for the late night owl stargazer. Before floating off to dreamland, or streaming your next movie, the a-Monocerotids meteor shower beckons. Late nighters know something that we don’t know; which is sometimes, the day is better at night. There’s a twist for you. Plus, late nighters are better with ambiguity; and the a-Monocerotids meteor shower is indeed an ambiguous one.
The a-Monocerotids meteor shower is the result of comet C/1917 F1 Mellish and is active from the 15th through the 25th. The peak Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) is near 4am local time the morning of the 21st. On the night of the 20th look towards the eastern horizon after 9:30pm local time to find the radiant point of the shower inside the constellation Canis Minor. The meteor shower is visible till dawn breaks on the 21st. The peak time to view the shower at 4am local time is when its radiant point is directly overhead (the Zenith). By then, the Earth’s rotation achieves an optimal direction towards the incoming meteors, so more meteors rain vertically straight down towards you. Before and after that period the meteors hit the Earth’s atmosphere at an oblique angle. While fewer meteors, those you see tend to last longer and traverse a greater distance of the inky night sky before burning up.
Once again, November shows us how it is a month of yin-yang. Sad to say, there is much yang associated with this shower. First, it is an ambiguous meteor shower because it tends to “burst” showers, more than showers that supply a predictable, steady stream of meteors. Making matters worse, the Moon is 13-days old, and 94% full. Not good. But, if you’re out and about on the night of the 21st, take a look up. You might have a chance to make a wish.
Beaver Full Moon Supermoon, November 24th
In Greek mythology, Selene, goddess of the Moon, guided her silver chariot across the heavens, bringing moonlight to the world below. The ancient Egyptians worshipped Khonsu as a Moon deity associated with time, healing, and protection. Translated as the “traveler," it reflects the Moon's journey across the heavens. My favorite is the Inuit view of the Moon. The Moon is the son, Anningan, while the Sun is Malina, his sister. A story describes arguing siblings where Malina flees into the sky, and Anningan follows her in an endless pursuit. As the Moon wanes, Anningan becomes thinner because he forgets to eat while pursuing his sister. When the Moon disappears, he is resting and eating. Only to take up his pursuit in a handful of days.
November's Full Moon, traditionally known as the Beaver Moon, as it is associated with both human and nature’s preparation for the soon to arrive winter. Literally, its name reflects the time of year when beavers strengthen their lodges and gather food before waterways freeze. This year's Beaver Moon has an added distinction as it is also a supermoon!
The Earth-to-Moon distance when the Moon is at its full phase is around 224,170 miles separating the two. The next day, November 25th, when the Moon is at Perigee, that is when it is the closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit, it is approximately 223,288 miles from Earth. This increase in proximity makes the Moon appear about 6–7% larger and somewhat brighter than an average Full Moon. Look toward the eastern horizon on the evenings of November 23 and 24 and watch for the Moon as it rises, often displaying beautiful golden and orange hues. As it climbs higher, its color will gradually become more silvery white.
Thus, I have an assignment for you. Plan your evenings on the 23rd and 24th to step outside on both nights after the Moon rises over the eastern horizon and compare its appearance. While it will look nearly full on both nights, you'll be witnessing the subtle changes of its lunar cycle between the two nights. Put your keen eyes on and go check it
Orionid Meteor Shower, Peak November 28th
The Orionid meteor shower is active this year between November 13th and December 6th. At peak on the 28th, the Orionid are anticipated to produce around 3–5 meteors per hour. Not that much. Sad to say, the Moon rests in the constellation Gemini, and is 20-days old at the shower peak and consequently spreads interfering light across the night sky. You’ll never see the dimmer meteors as they will be washed out by moonlight. Yet, for the undaunted, the radiant point (central origination point of the meteor shower) is in the constellation Orion which becomes visible after the constellation rises above the eastern horizon around 6:35pm MT. Like a couple of meteor showers this November, the show lasts all night, setting when they are obscured by the next morning’s sunrise. It is anticipated that the peak of this shower is 2pm local time when its radiant point is highest in the sky.
To find the radiant point for the Orionid Meteor Shower, simply go back and review the directions above for locating both the Northern Taurids Meteor Shower and the Pleiades star cluster. The only difference is that the Orionid shower is one hour later, and on a different date. How easy is that?
It’s a Full House: Stargazing Poker with the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Regulus. November 29th – 30th
Mark your calendar now, for some amazing star and planet gazing before you hit the hay the evening of the 29th that’s because the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter are up to their shenanigans again and this time they’ve pulled the bright star Regulus, the “Little King” into the mix. This little prince of the stars is bright and easy to find, but only after you’ve located it the first time. This is where on this night the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter make it easy for you to find it.
Look to the eastern horizon after 11pm for the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Regulus tightly grouped. And they’ll be shuffling around all night. All three of these solar systems objects and one star are either in conjunction, in appulse, or in occultation throughout the night and into the early morning. Mars is colored rust-orange-red; Jupiter beige / off-white; and Regulus, is blue-white in appearance. Sounds like colors and moves of a card game to me. Celestial poker. Let me explain these moves.
● A conjunction is when two or more celestial objects share the same celestial longitude, or right ascension. They’re all in on this.
● An appulse is when two or more celestial objects reach their minimum apparent angular separation. This is between the Moon and Jupiter.
● An occultation is when one celestial object (frequently, and in this moment, the Moon) passes directly in front of another and temporarily blocks it from view. On the 30th the Moon passes in front of Jupiter.
Since you can find the star Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, you can now identify the “Sickle the Leo” which is the head and mane of the king of the night sky’s beasts. Look at the image above again and notice a backwards question mark, consisting of five similar in brightness stars, where Regulus represents the bottom “period” of the backwards question mark. Next, move left of the Sickle of Leo the same distance that the Sickle is tall, scan for three stars of similar brightness creating a scalene triangle, with the shortest line segment of the triangle closest to the Sickle. Find the triangle, then add the Sickle and you have the side profile of our lion on its haunches, head up, facing ahead, with his paws out forward. (Need some help visualizing the lion? Go back and look at the image for the Leonid Meteor Shower. Now you’ve got it.)
The constellation Leo, represents the Nemean lion slain by Hercules; the first of his twelve laborers. The brightest star in the constellation Leo is Regulus. It is a star the ancients held as a beacon of kinship, leadership, authority. It is a hot, blue-white main sequence star, a subgiant, sitting approximately 79 light years away from Earth, and near 50–70 million years old. It is approximately 4 times the mass of our Sun.
When you look up at the celestial sphere this month you’ll experience a yin of beauty and bounty in the form of meteor showers, planets, a wonderful star cluster, and a Beaver Full supermoon. Yin in November is the mystery and grandeur that beckons you to go outside and feel in the presence of the universe on any clear night. Maybe it is the same for you. Yet, there’s yang in November. That pesky Moon and the undeniable chill on your nose, ears, and toes. A shiver up your spine is followed by the faint question of “what am I doing out here?” rising in volume from the back of your mind. That’s yang right there.
Stay strong my stargazing friend. Dress warmly, and carry on. Remember that the cosmos will welcome you even if you are out looking up; even if it is for only 5 minutes. Put your down jacket on and pull the hood up over your head. Step outside and look up; connect with this wonderfully expanding universe above you, around you, and in you. You’ll be thankful that you did.
Clear skies to you, and Happy Thanksgiving.
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